£420,000 worth of cannabis seized in raids across Rotherham

Officers from Rotherham Central local policing team pictured with some of the cannabis seizedOfficers from Rotherham Central local policing team pictured with some of the cannabis seized
Officers from Rotherham Central local policing team pictured with some of the cannabis seized
POLICE uncovered more than £400,000 worth of cannabis in three days at empty homes that had all been turned into “dangerous” drug factories.

The first haul was found at a rented property on Grange Lane, Maltby, on Monday (12).

Sgt Dave Baines said a couple of hundred plants, worth around £160,000, had been found.

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“Those responsible had tapped straight into the mains, it was quite dangerous,” he said.

The second raid took place on Tuesday after a member of the public tipped police off about an empty property on Godstone Road, Rotherham.

A “very sophisticated” cannabis set-up including infra-red technology, gas canisters, CO2 generator and a timer system was found.

Sgt Baines added: “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

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He added: “The gas was not properly turned off and it had leaked throughout the house.”

The cannabis crop (pictured with officers from Rotherham Central local policing team) was worth around £60,000.

“The gas and electricity has been by-passed dangerously and gas had flooded into the place – it was lucky it didn’t go up,” added Sgt Baines.

Gas engineers was called to the scene to make the address safe.

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On Wednesday, police were called to a property on Cambridge Street, Clifton, by the landlord and 250 plants worth around £200,000 were uncovered.

No arrests have been made in connection to the three drug busts but police said forensic work was ongoing.

Cannabis hauls were coming thick and fast for the team, said Sgt Baines, and were a key part of their work to crack down on anti-social behaviour in the Wellgate area.

Sgt Baines said perpetrators often rented out properties for the intention of cannabis production and would employ people such as “Vietnamese nationals” to live in the property and cultivate the crop.

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